Saturday, April 28, 2012

 I finally put this up my quilt frames.  I looked at these colors for quilting but I made a trip to Hancock Fabrics and got some green Gutermann  quilt thread as well as some in between needles.  They were all on sale, so I was pretty happy.  
 I work at a school in Migrant Education.  I have 3 girls that came from Mexico this year, that I am teaching phonics and reading to.  I am making them each a bag.  This is the start of one of them.

The next part of this post may be just for me.  My friend Dixie helped me baste the Christmas Quilt.  I know it is a lost art and I, for one, am always forgetting the exact order of how to do it.  
So here is how to baste a quilt....the old fashioned way.

  • Line up the edges of the backing fabric with the boards exactly and then pin them to the boards using thumb tacks.  Backing fabric is face down.


  •  Next, put the other boards underneath and slowly stretch them out. I'm not going to lie, sometimes (every time)  things fall.  Just pick it up and try again.


  • This is what the corner should look like. 

  •  Use a clamp to hold it together.  If using a c-clamp, make sure the twisty part is up.


  •  I like these clamp so much better.


  •  Next, lay out the batting and then the quilt top, right side up.  Use thumb tacks to pin to the board. 


  •  I had a bigger back than the quilt top, so we stretched it and used straight pins to pin it to the batting and backing.  


  • Here we are ready to baste.  When basting, go around the edge and also a second row about 6 to 8 inches in at the same time.  Then, when you can not reach any farther in, start rolling.  We always do 2 rows at a time.
  • When you roll, take off the clamps and roll to where you want to start basting. Put the clamps back on.  
  • One last comment.  You really need a friend to do this with.  

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Whale Tails


Look!  How cute is this?  My  daughter-in-law's mother made this for her.  I love it.  

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Sewing is not for Everyone

Despite my best efforts, my daughter does not like to sew.  She does, however, make bags out of duct tape.  She just finished this one and I love it.  





Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Log Cabins

So I saw an ad on the back of magazine and I loved it.  It looked like a great way use extra quilt blocks. 
It is a block of the month project and you can learn more about it from Keepsake Quilting 

 So my quilt group had a project where they gave us a piece of  fabric and everyone had to make enough blocks for everyone in the group, using the colors from that piece of fabric.  I backed out early because I just wasn't feeling it, however, my friend Dixie did it and I showed her the pattern.  She tried it and I think it turned out great.  

Once she gets the borders on it, I think it will be great.  Oh how I love those Log Cabins.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

I didn't sew this week.  It was a crazy week.  I am, however, working on finding a pattern for a baby quilt.  
 

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Happy Easter

I love this time of year.  I finished this last week and thought I might use it for Easter, but then
 I couldn't help myself and got this out instead. 
Happy Easter

Good to be Home

I finished this cross stitch.  I'm looking forward to visiting the Redwoods this Summer with my kids.  I was home this weeke...